


The Birthday

by befreckledblake



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 08:45:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3804142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/befreckledblake/pseuds/befreckledblake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He can’t remember the last time he was this excited about something so mundane. He can’t remember the last time he was this excited about anything. And he definitely can’t remember ever, in his entire life, being excited about a birthday.</p>
<p>Birthdays suck. And not in the good way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Birthday

He takes the porch steps two at a time, holding a small box carefully in both hands. It’s wrapped in rich matte fabric, black as night, with dark green ribbon tying the top off in a bow. A steady stream of easy conversation and warm laughter flows from the house; he must be the last to arrive.  
  
He can’t remember the last time he was this excited about something so mundane. He can’t remember the last time he was this excited about  _anything_. And he definitely can’t remember ever, in his entire life, being excited about a birthday.  
  
Birthdays suck. And not in the good way.  
  
The door opens before he has the chance to knock, and Caroline stands before him, only a tad irritated to see him. “Damon.”  
  
“Barbie.” He nods his head in greeting, waiting expectantly. She rolls her eyes and swings the door all the way open, ushering him inside.  
  
“Don’t make me regret inviting you.” She gives his box a curious glance, raising an eyebrow at him. “What’s that?”  
  
He steps into the front hall, giving her the look a teacher might give one of his slower students. “It’s a gift. You know, those things you bring people on their birthdays?”  
  
Caroline’s eyes narrow to slits, and she opens her mouth, prepared to rip him a new one, but then she closes it again. She steels herself, taking a slow breath. “The things I do for friendship.” Before he has a chance to respond to that, she’s turning away from him, marching down the hallway. “Everyone else is already here. Bonnie just finished opening her other presents, and there’s cake if you want some."   
  
He follows her deeper into the house, glancing around and taking it all in. Bonnie had eventually invited him into the 1994 Bennett house, and when they’d come back to the land of the living she’d decided she trusted him enough to extend the invitation one more time. But he hasn’t really had the opportunity to roam around until now.  
  
The house feels a lot different, heavier than its predecessor. Sadder, almost, like the memories and experiences of the people living in it over the years have seeped into the building’s very bones.   
  
"Damon!” Bonnie’s voice snaps him out of his reverie, and he blinks. She’s kneeling in the center of the family room, a sea of torn wrapping and tissue paper surrounding her in a semi-circle. Everyone else is already there; Elena, Jeremy and Matt are crammed together on the couch, with Stefan perched precariously on one of the armrests, and Tyler and Caroline are snuggled up in a lounge chair that’s definitely not made for snuggling. Still, somehow they seem to have made it work.  
  
“You came.” Bonnie says, getting to her feet and hopping over the presents to stand in front of him. “I wasn’t sure you would.”  
  
“I always come.” He smirks, waggling his eyebrows at her. There’s a chorus of groans and boos from the rest of the room, and Bonnie rolls her eyes, but her lips pull up in a small smile. Her eyes fall on the box he’s holding, and they widen in surprise.   
  
“What’s that?”  
  
Honestly. Is the concept of gift-giving so hard to grasp these days?  
  
“What kind of guest shows up to a birthday party without a present?” He says indignantly, holding it out to her, enjoying the spark of curiosity in her eyes far more than he should.  
  
“I just…” She holds it carefully in both hands, letting her fingers run over the smooth silk ribbon. “You didn’t have to get me anything, Damon.” He shrugs, waiting for her eyes to meet his before he speaks.  
  
“I wanted to.”  
  
A faint tinge of pink colours her cheeks, and he can hear her pulse spike.  
  
“Well come on, Bonnie,” Elena calls from her spot on the couch, spooning a piece of cake into her mouth, “open it!”  
  
Bonnie shoots him another curious glance before moving back to her spot on the floor. She trails her fingers over the wrapping paper gently, like she’s trying to commit it to memory. He expects her to tear into it like she’s done with the other presents, but she doesn’t. She takes her time, first untying the bow, and then slowly peeling back the wrapping paper, being careful not to rip it. Damon moves silently to the free armrest, leaning against it just as she’s uncovering a cardboard box. She glances over at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.  
  
“You got her a jumbo set of pancake mix?” Matt asks, reading the label on the box from his spot on the couch. Damon snorts, shaking his head.  
  
“Just open it,” He says, fighting to keep his tone neutral. She gives him another curious look before pulling the lid apart. A soft gasp escapes her when she peers inside, one hand flying up to cover her mouth. She reaches inside with her free hand, gently pulling out the stuffed teddy bear she’d lost when she was nine.  
  
“ _Cuddles_.” She breathes, and he’s both delighted and distraught to see tears filling her eyes. Before anyone can react, she’s on her feet, moving toward him, and then she’s flinging her arms around him, Cuddles gripped tightly in one hand. At first Damon isn’t sure how to react; he’d expected an emotional reaction, but not anything quite like this. He just manages to keep them both from falling off the couch.  
  
“I can’t believe you remembered,” Bonnie whispers into his shirt, hugging him as tightly as she can. Slowly, he brings his arms around her, pulling her against him.   
  
“It’s the little things,” He jokes, his lips just barely brushing against her ear. He feels her body shiver, and then she’s stepping away, putting space between them. Their faces are level with him sitting and her leaning over him, and he finds his eyes drawn to her lips, rosy pink and perfectly bow shaped. He knows she’s pretty, he’s always seen that, but it’s here, in this moment, when she’s looking at him with gratitude and awe and no trace of the grudging hate that always used to float between them, that he realizes she’s beautiful.   
  
“I don’t even know what to say,” She laughs, pulling Cuddles up to her chest and giving the teddy bear a hearty squeeze.  
  
“‘Thank you’ usually works.” He shrugs his shoulders again, giving her as casual a look as he can muster. If his heart still beat, it would be pounding in his chest.   
  
“Thank you, Damon.” She says, the words full of conviction and gratitude. “Thank you so much.” And then she leans forward, placing a hand against his face, and plants a soft kiss on his cheek.  
  
He can’t keep the smirk off his face now, and there’s a warm feeling spreading through him like wildfire. She moves away, giving him a shy smile, and then Matt is demanding to know who Cuddles is and what the deal is with pancake mix and everyone wants to hear the whole story from the beginning. Damon shifts on the armrest, getting into a more comfortable position as Bonnie launches into the tale, starting with the tragic misplacement of Cuddles one night so many years ago. Watching her like this, content and carefree with her favourite teddy bear nestled safely in her arms, he comes to a startling realization.  
  
Maybe birthdays aren’t so bad after all.  
  
_Fin  
_

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this little piece came from tumblr user iriswestallenn’s post about Damon bringing Miss Cuddles back to the present with him, which was absolutely adorable - thank you so much for letting my imagination run wild with this! :)


End file.
